Parkland secured its fifth straight district football championship last weekend. Now the Trojans move on to familiar territory when they head into the state tournament to face St. Joseph’s Prep Saturday at Northeast High School in Philadelphia.

The District 12 champion Hawks (11-0) are the second-ranked team in the state and feature Georgia-bound running back D’Andre Swift. They won PIAA Class 4A state titles in 2013 and 2014.

They will be the best team Parkland has faced this season.

But the Trojans will be as ready as they can. They’ve been getting better all season long and have played their best games in the district playoffs.

“I believe we’ve been playing our best football over the last few weeks, but I don’t think we’ve played our best game yet,” said Parkland defensive end DJ Hohman. “Hopefully that comes out pretty soon.”

This year marks Parkland’s fifth straight trip to the state tournament and the team is looking to improve on last year’s PIAA runner-up finish.

The state playoff experience from previous years should benefit this team as it tries to win its way through this year’s Class 6A bracket.

“Being in the state playoffs consecutive years in a row, you get guys that have experience and I believe that is going to help us out,” said linebacker/running back Jahan Worth.

The Trojans seem to have all facets of their game peaking. The defense played sound in last week’s district title win over Freedom, giving up a couple big plays but holding the Patriots to 14 points.

Parkland’s offense has a trio of solid running backs (Worth, Nick Suriel and Guida) and a junior quarterback (Michael Ruisch) who has shown over the past few weeks that teams can’t load the box and key on the run.

The Trojans, which entered districts at 7-3 as the No. 3 seed, also have an experienced offensive line that’s been dominant at times in the postseason.

“They’re clicking and they practice that way,” said Parkland head coach Tim Moncman. “That’s probably the biggest difference I’ve seen in the last four or five weeks, the way these kids are practicing. They’re just getting after it. It gets chippy in practice. There’s a lot of pushing and shoving. But the attitude is there. I’m just proud of them coming from 7-3 to do this.”